Topic: Julie Groos Towler Shelton Funeral
Time: May 22, 2021 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4817679970

Meeting ID: 481 767 9970

Julie Groos Towler Shelton, born 28 February 1947, in Galveston, Texas, died peacefully with her family at her bedside 8 May 2021 after a long and productive life and a courageous 20-year battle with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. She was the daughter of Dr. Martin Towler, a principal in the Harris Clinic and a pioneer in the field of electroencephalography, and of Hetta Jockusch Towler, who at 18 graduated from UT Phi Betta Kappa and who was descended from two banking families that began business when Texas was yet a Republic.

Julie had a healthy and happy childhood with her brothers, sisters, and cousins and best friend Laura Ford. She had fond memories of riding horses with Laura. Julie attended camp Waldemar where she excelled. Everyone liked Julie who was always ready with an encouraging word. Julie was elected Homecoming Queen at Galveston's Ball High School where she also achieved numerous academic honors, including receiving the highest score of her class in the Math SAT's. She continued her connection with her graduating class for more than 50 years as an active and productive member of her reunion committee.

Julie completed a B.A. in Art at the University of Texas, while participating, as had her mother, in the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. Julie was a 1970 debutant at the Galveston Artillery Club.

After completing her B.A., she taught art for a year at Lovenberg Junior High school, buying from her own pocket supplies GISD failed to provide.  Julie's perception of color was extraordinarily sensitive, nuanced and precise.

After this stint at teaching, Julie began the first of three trips around the world. Starting in Paris, she traveled east and south overland through Turkey, Iran, and Iraq to Ceylon, proceeded to Nepal and then on to Bangkok, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Bali, and from Bali, to Hong Kong and then home.

Her second trip began in London where she went to study Egyptian art. London led to Cairo. Departing Cairo, she traveled the Nile river to Luxor and thence to Giza and the mystery of the Sphinx. Then, east to Bangkok, Hong Kong, South Korea, and, finally, Home.

Her third trip was made for the purpose of purchasing antiques for her shop, Whampoa Import Merchant, and led her through Hong Kong, South Korea, Bangkok, New Deli and London.

In addition, there were many other trips: to South America, China, Haiti and to Africa, including a sojourn to Victoria Falls during the Rhodesian Bush War.

Julie's own travel experience made her the perfect travel agent, and she enjoyed arranging family trips, including to the Texas Hill Country and St. Miguel de Allende. The attention she showed to detail in all things was particularly evident here.  She saw to it that the boys attended summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, and, when she became unable to travel, made sure the rest did - Ken and Charles to Paris, Charles, and then, the boys to Europe, Charles to Chicago, William to Washington, Thomas to India and China for gap semester then around the world on Semester at Sea and the entire brood to Jamaica and Costa Rica.

Julie and her husband Kenneth Shelton, both attended Trinity Episcopal Church and, though a year apart in school, shared a math class, but did not take much notice of each other until, on Julie's first trip around the world, they both found themselves in Paris. A romance and extended courtship preceded almost 40 years of marriage.

When the city gave her future husband Ken permission to begin public celebration of Mardi Gas in 1982 with a street dance on the Strand, the   couple went from the street dance to the Artillery Club Mardi Gras and then returned to the Strand at midnight. An observer would have seen the young couple, still dressed in formal evening attire, push brooms in hand, sweeping up the debris Ken had promised the city would be cleaned.  She married him anyway.  This is one of several cherished mental pictures of Julie: Julie among the Pygmies, Julie on a camel at the Sphinx, trekking to the glacier in Nepal at Everest basecamp, riding a donkey to the Citadel in Haiti, curing tea leaves at a tea farm in China, Julie holding babies Charles, William, Thomas.

Julie, and Ken were blessed with three sons, Charles Kenneth Knox, born 1984, William Towler, born 1988 and Thomas Sanborn Byrne, born 1990.  These three boys were the light of Julie's life, and she was a soccer Mom, den mother, and tutor while still running her shop.

Julie's shop, Whampoa Import Merchant, on Tremont and Strand was among the first retail shops in the area and was stocked with an eclectic mix of fine oriental antiques and fun items - from 19 ^th century Chinese Scholars chairs and Tibetan Thangkas to Chinese finger-cuffs and Japanese anime erasers. When she closed it in 1994, it was among the longest operating businesses on the Strand.

Late in life, in 2015, at the age of 70, Julie developed a keen interest in the stock market and began managing her accounts. Unversed in computer science and with poor eyesight, she depended mostly on CNBC and Jim Cramer for investment ideas and information and traded, the old-fashioned way, by calling her broker on the phone. In 2019 she received a chrome book for Christmas and was soon using it to delve further into the Market, though she still traded using the phone. Remarkably, actively trading her accounts with great success, Julie consistently "beat the market."

Throughout her life Julie was a paragon of courage and determination, a living example of Churchill's advice: "Never, never, never, never give up!" Once she made a decision, she never doubted it and would follow through with enthusiasm. She was bound by her sense of good manners, aesthetics and morality.  She never felt sorry for herself and  always acted with courage, making the best of any situation. Adversity was a cause to push on. Things that would have stymied lesser mortals, she shrugged off. She stayed in Galveston through Ike, and though she was on supplemental oxygen, she was able to ration her tanks to last more than a week until electrical service was restored.  Recently, during the Big Freeze she stuck it out at home before finally taking shelter with her sister who had electrical service.

Likewise, during the 20 years she fought Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, she gave up little territory and continued to be a full time Mom to her sons and wife to her husband, leaving 20 years of cherished memories, so that today, you forget she is not here, and the thing you just decided to mention to her, cannot now be told.

Julie's parents Martin and Hetta Towler and brother Will, preceded her. She is survived by her husband of 39 years Kenneth and their sons  Charles, William and Thomas; by Sister Peaches Kempner (husband, Harris) of Galveston, by brother Martin and sister Sally Spann (Roy) both of Austin; by cousin Jacquetta Owens of Spring; by Will's wife, Jane; by nephews Branch Kempner (wife, Kim) Randall (Shannon) and, Ryan (Katherine) and Patrick Sullivan, by Alden Towler, Donald Howell (Julie), Casey Howell, Hunter Shelton (Gloria), Patrick Shelton (Roberta);  by nieces Hetta Towler (fiancé, Dan), Frances Buergler (David), Cathy Pickavance (William), Mallory Shelton (Dallas) and Madeline Hawley (Christian); and by numerous cousins and friends.

Pall bearers are her nephews.

The family is grateful for her outstanding doctors Seeram Parapudi, Bagi Jana and Michele Mercatante, Rezwan Ahmed and to her world class pulmonologists Adaani Frost, retired, and Zeenat Safdar.

Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice or to the Galveston Academic Excellence Booster Club P.O. Box 3493, Galveston, Tx. 77552.

The Visitation will be Friday 21 May from 5:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home 1201 23 ^rd Street, Galveston.

The Funeral will be Saturday 22 May at 1:00 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church 22 ^nd and Winnie, Galveston.